A Bitter Choice and Harsh Consequences

She had to make her final choice.

Su Xiaoxiao’s mind replayed the words spoken just outside the palace.

“You wish to keep this bastard child? You may, but it can only be born in the Demon Realm.”

“Should you wish to leave, you may follow your elder now. However, this child, you cannot keep.”

“You should already understand the meaning of the cinnabar talisman on your foot. If you do not obey…”

If you do not obey…

With the cinnabar talisman etched onto her foot, Xiyue would know her whereabouts no matter where she fled. Even if the elder fought to the death to bring her back today, what good would it do?

Xiyue was so volatile and unpredictable. No matter where she escaped, Xiyue would know. Enraged, she would surely pursue her to the Southern Sea. What then would become of her kin?

A cold sweat beaded on Su Xiaoxiao’s forehead. A friend beside her gently tugged her hand.

“Xiaoxiao, what’s wrong? Do you not wish to return to the Southern Sea with us?”

“Xiaoxiao, Elder Yunli has exerted herself for you for so long, and the Clan Leader worries for you too. Please, say something! Come back to the Southern Sea with us!”

Su Xiaoxiao felt a haze descend upon her. Only by digging her nails into her flesh did she force herself back to lucidity.

“Su Xue, Su Tao, I…” Su Xiaoxiao began, her voice hoarse with a bitter taste in her mouth.

Seeing her hesitation, Yunli, naturally impatient, urged, “Xiaoxiao! What are you still hesitating for? Come over here, quickly!”

“Elder, I…” Su Xiaoxiao’s gaze fell upon Xiyue, who sat on the main seat, watching her with keen interest. A smile played on Xiyue’s lips, as if victory was already hers.

It was the posture of a victor, the look of one who had seized her weakness, a gaze filled with coercion and menace.

Su Xiaoxiao’s chest heaved violently, and she tasted a metallic tang of blood in her throat. Tears welled in her eyes as she whispered, her voice hoarse and faint, “I… don’t want to return to the Southern Sea.”

Though her words were barely a whisper, everyone in the hall heard them. Her friends, who had been holding her hand moments before, now froze in stunned silence.

“Xiaoxiao, what are you saying? Have you been frozen senseless?”

Su Tao’s face paled, her expression etched with disbelief. “You don’t want to come home with us?”

Su Xiaoxiao lowered her gaze, unable to meet theirs. She fought desperately to suppress the bitterness in her heart, to keep her tears from falling.

Her silence even managed to calm the usually volatile Yunli.

Xiyue remained seated, observing the unfolding drama. ‘Merfolk truly are beautiful fools, just as the world claims,’ she mused. ‘A simple trick is enough to leave them utterly bewildered.’

With a soft chuckle, Xiyue rose and addressed Yunli. “Elder Yunli, you heard her. She herself does not wish to return with you.”

Xiyue deliberately glanced at the stiff little mermaid, then slowly commanded, “Xiaoxiao, come here to me.”

Su Xiaoxiao remained rooted to the spot, unmoving. However, Xiyue then added, addressing Yunli, “Once the child in her womb is born, I will surely host a grand banquet and invite Elder Yunli to help bestow a name.”

At the mention of her ‘little fish-cub,’ Su Xiaoxiao finally reacted. Enduring the pain, she pulled her hand from her friend’s grasp and walked towards Xiyue.

Su Xue and Su Tao were utterly disheartened. Yunli felt a lump in her throat, a bitter pill she could not swallow. Finally, she could only utter, “Let us go.”

As she stormed away in anger, she couldn’t help but cast one last glance back at Su Xiaoxiao. Then, she turned to Xiyue, saying, “I implore the Demon Monarch to provide her with warmer clothing. A chilled abdomen is detrimental to the fetus.”

Yunli’s tone lacked the earlier arrogance. Instead, it was tinged with timidity, yet overflowing with reluctance to part from her junior.

Su Xiaoxiao dared not look at them. Enveloped in Xiyue’s embrace, she listened as the heavy palace doors shut with a resounding thud.

The elder had left. Her kin had left too.

When Xiyue brought her back to the small courtyard where she resided, a thick layer of snow had already fallen. Xiyue observed her dispirited figure treading through the snow, yet felt none of her previous satisfaction.

She removed her fox-fur cloak and draped it over Su Xiaoxiao. In return, she received a resounding slap across the face.

A sharp crack echoed.

Su Xiaoxiao stood in the snow, her eyes crimson. After delivering the slap, she turned and walked away without a backward glance, utterly alone.

‘This little fish-cub truly had grown bold. She dared to strike her face!’

Xiyue took a few swift strides forward, directly gripping Su Xiaoxiao’s shoulders. The Demon Monarch’s authority had been challenged. She roared, “Did I say you could leave?!”

She raised her hand. Yet, Su Xiaoxiao did not flinch, nor did she even blink. Her eyes, bloodshot with fury, simply glared back at Xiyue.

Her face was numb and turning blue from the cold, yet it did nothing to diminish her beauty. Her soft, blue-white hair, dampened by the falling snow, clung to her pale skin.

Having lived for several millennia, this was the first time Xiyue had been openly slapped in the face. Flames of fury threatened to consume her rationality entirely. Just as she was about to strike Su Xiaoxiao—

Su Xiaoxiao suddenly furrowed her brows, covered her mouth, and hunched over, beginning to cough violently.

The coughs were earth-shattering, and fresh blood streamed from between her slender, pale fingers.

Xiyue froze. That impending strike ultimately did not fall.

Su Xiaoxiao coughed as though she were trying to expel her very heart and lungs. Dizziness swam before her eyes, and her legs felt weak. Despite such a wretched state, she did not utter a single whimper, forcing herself to stand and leave.

Gu Yan had been waiting for a long time in her small courtyard, pacing back and forth anxiously. Chitang stood beside Gu Yan, waiting with her.

When Gu Yan and Chitang saw Su Xiaoxiao stagger in, looking on the verge of collapse, their hearts pounded with fear.

Outside, it was an icy wasteland. They knew merfolk feared the cold, yet she had been made to wear such thin clothes and walk out to meet her kin.

Xiyue truly was incorrigible.

Gu Yan frantically told Chitang to brew some ginger soup. Su Xiaoxiao’s dancer-like attire was stained with blood. Ignoring Gu Yan’s words, she simply continued walking inside.

Gu Yan then noticed bloodstains on the ground, realizing Su Xiaoxiao wasn’t wearing shoes. Her foot must have been cut on her way back.

How much pain she must have been in, Gu Yan dared not imagine.

What she found even more unbelievable was Xiyue’s cruelty, completely disregarding Su Xiaoxiao’s physical condition and the child in her womb.

Su Xiaoxiao did not drink the prepared ginger soup.

Nor did she drink the two bowls of medicinal broth.

She had fallen into a coma. Gu Yan had to exert all her efforts to stabilize her condition.

In the following days, after Su Xiaoxiao awoke, she became increasingly silent. She wouldn’t even speak to Gu Yan or Chitang anymore.

Having suffered such severe physical and mental trauma, her spirit deteriorated further. She recovered slowly, struggled to eat, and slept for the better part of each day.

Like a flower torn from its roots, she withered a little more with each passing day.

Su Xiaoxiao’s health was truly poor. The fetus in her womb could no longer be nourished solely by medicinal concoctions.

Gu Yan informed her, “Acupuncture must be administered once every seven days.”

Su Xiaoxiao had always feared sharp, pointed objects. Gu Yan used to tease her with threats like, “If you don’t drink your medicine properly, I’ll give you acupuncture.”

Knowing Su Xiaoxiao’s fear, Gu Yan expected at least some reaction. Alas, Su Xiaoxiao merely nodded gently, acknowledging the information.

Her expression was as placid as a still pond. Only when Gu Yan spoke of the child in her womb would she show a slight reaction. At all other times, she would turn her face away, her head bowed, lost in unknown thoughts.

Her refusal to speak only added more fuel to Xiyue’s furious flames.

Xiyue believed this was Su Xiaoxiao deliberately defying her. What did a rebellious spirit matter? She had countless ways to make Su Xiaoxiao obedient.

Xiyue nearly lost her temper. Even Gu Yan, strongly disapproving, disregarded the risk of Xiyue’s wrath and intervened, “This cannot continue…”

“Her foot injury hasn’t healed, her mental state is terrible, and the fetus in her womb is not doing well either.”

Xiyue raged, “This dying-and-living act of hers, who is it meant for?!”

Xiyue believed she had been incredibly lenient with Su Xiaoxiao. She even recounted to Gu Yan the incident of receiving a slap in the snow.

Gu Yan struggled to conceal her surprise. Yet, deep down, she couldn’t help but think, ‘Su Xiaoxiao truly is bold. What a pity I missed such a rare sight.’

Gu Yan cleared her throat, speaking on Su Xiaoxiao’s behalf. “She is pregnant now, so being more temperamental is normal. She is young and frail, Your Excellency. Why bother contending with her?”

Xiyue gnashed her teeth, but ultimately, she swallowed her anger.